City Council votes to close Gardiner, DVP for July triathlon

A pitch to close parts of the city’s two major expressways for a triathlon next summer won the support of Toronto City Council this week.

Subject to permits, the competition will close the eastbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway from the Humber to the DVP, and the northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway, to Eglinton Avenue, from 2 a.m. to noon on one Sunday next July.

Jeff Chong, son of former city and Metro councillor Gordon Chong, is behind the 5150 event, trademarked by Ironman, that features a 1.5 kilometre swim, a 40 kilometre bike ride and a 10 kilometre run. The signature part of the route would see 1,000 to 1,500 participants bike across the Gardiner and up the DVP.

Elected officials argued over whether the benefits of such a sporting event, which some said could create buzz for the 2015 Pan Am Games, outweigh the inconvenience to motorists.

In the end, council voted 29 to 9 to close the roads.

So far this year, the Gardiner, the DVP and the Allen Expressway, or portions thereof, have been closed 207 times, for varying lengths of time, for construction and maintenance and police investigations.